Huawei mobile devices approach 1 billion as rivalry with Apple intensifies

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

(Bloomberg) — Huawei Technologies Co. is closing in on 1 billion active consumer devices, underscoring how the U.S.-sanctioned company is leading the battle against Apple Inc. in the crucial Chinese market.

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There are now some 900 million Huawei gadgets installed with its internal Harmony operating software, a significant increase from just a few months ago, said consumer business president Richard Yu. Sales of high-end Huawei smartphones soared 72% in the first five months of 2024, he told attendees at an annual developers forum on Friday.

These figures illustrate the phenomenal growth that Huawei phones have enjoyed since the unveiling of the Mate 60 Pro, which contained a 7-nanometer processor that officials in Washington didn't think Chinese companies were capable of developing. Business has since boomed, helping Huawei more than quintuple its profits in the March quarter and take market share from Apple and its Chinese rivals.

“No one can extinguish the light of the stars in the sky. Today, the future of HarmonyOS is defined,” Yu told his audience. “Let’s enjoy the brilliant galaxy that is ours.”

Huawei intends to launch a successor to its flagship smartphone, the Mate 70, at the end of the year, Yu said. It is likely to run on HarmonyOS Next, breaking remaining ties with Google's Android . Huawei plans to release a beta version to consumers around August, Yu said.

Huawei has taken HarmonyOS beyond smartphones in recent years and into products ranging from watches to TVs. The Chinese company shipped about 11 million wearables in the first quarter, surpassing Samsung Electronics Co., according to IDC. This helped Harmony OS overtake Apple's iOS in Chinese market share during the January-March period, according to Counterpoint Research. The main driver, however, remains the growing popularity of Huawei phones, Counterpoint added.

Huawei is becoming more aggressive in its attempt to profit from HarmonyOS as its user base grows. It plans to reduce in-app purchases, underscoring a growing confidence in competing with the iPhone – although there is likely to be at least one notable exception, Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat.

It's also making progress on the AI front with the Ascend GPU, part of a growing portfolio of chips that has prompted Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang to call Huawei a formidable rival.

Chinese companies, including Huawei, are developing local alternatives to the most powerful AI accelerators made by Nvidia, which Washington has banned from the country. The effort is seen as key to Beijing's broader ambitions to catch up with the United States in AI and chipmaking.

On Friday, Yu said its Ascend processors were 1.1 times more effective at training AI models than traditional offerings, although he did not name specific companies. His company has so far set up three AI data centers powered by Ascend chips in China, helping local companies develop and host artificial intelligence services.